b'6American Journal ofTransportation ajot.comLocated in San Juan, TX, Rio Bravo is one of many modern logistics facilities serving Mexican fresh produce imports.Rio Bravo is owned by Dallas-based Marengo Foods Co. LLC., a grower and exporter of Mexican fresh produce.(BOOSTcontinued from page 2) NAFTA was a significanteventthat expectstohandle4.5milliontonsofhelpeddiversifytradewithMexico. steel slabs from Brazil. This climbed toCampiranonotedtheperishable a 3.0- to 3.5-percent increase over 2021.exportsfromMexicototheUnited It is projected to increase again in 2023States showed the greatest gain. and 2024. GiventhenatureofMexicos Brownsville also receives importedfreshproduceindustry,NAFTA, pig iron and petcoke for shipping toandthentheUSMCA,havebeen Mexican and U.S. mills. mostbeneficialtoTexasland Petroleum-basedcommoditiesportsspecializinginperishables, represented nearly 50% of BrownsvillesCampirano said. totalcargomoved,with6.3millionAlthoughBrownsvillehasahistory tons.Asignificantcontributortoin agriculture, that of course isnt its thisisrefinedoilproducts,suchasmodern-day strength. lubricants, jet fuel and unleaded andAccordingtotheBrownsville premium gasoline.website, 86 years ago, the port began Attheotherendoftheenergyasamajoragriculturehubforthe spectrumfrompetroleumisthewindregion, with Texas citrus exports by componentbusiness,whichisverysea being key.good,forBrownsville,CampiranoInitially, a key NAFTA beneficiary said.Matamorosisawindbladewas the Nogales, AZ, crossing point. manufacturer,whichexportsthroughLocated directly north of Sinaloa and thePortofBrownsvilletocustomersimmediately north of Sonora, Nogales offshore and in the U.S. (The largest offordecadeshadbeentheprimary these wind blades are 260 feet long!) portforreceivingMexicanfruits OtherinterestingsectorsofandvegetablesboundforU.S.and BrownsvillesportbusinessissteelCanadian markets.south Texas to Atlantic Coast markets,of regionally grown sorghum destined recycling through dismantling retiredBut a very significant shift beganover shipping through Nogales. toChina,creatingnewinternational Navy ships.in2013,whenMexicocompletedCampirano noted that Pharr andmarket opportunities for South Texas Theportalsohasa9,000-foottheexpensiveMazatlan-DurangoLaredo,TX,subsequentlyexplodedfarming families. dockforservingtheGulfslargesthighway,slicingthroughMexicosto become the United States largestBrownsvillecompletedthe shrimp boat fleet. most-ruggedmountainrange.Thelandport for receiving fresh produce. rehabilitationofBulkCargoDock, newfast,direct,saferoutegaveHistoricallyatBrownsville,agimproving access to the three million-usMca, P roduce and vegetablegrowersinCuliacanandexports business gave way to two-waybushelgrainelevatoroperatedby B rownsvIlle otherkeyPacificCoastproductiontrade in industrial products. AlthoughWestPlains LLC.Goingintoeffectin1993,areasamuchcloseralternativevia2020 saw the restart of grain exports B y tHen uMBersThe latest statistics from Brownsville showthatvesseltrafficthroughthe BrownsvilleShipChannelincreased by11%in2021.Throughout2020, 1,671 vessels called on the port, and in 2021 that number increased to 1,855.The Brownsville and Rio Grande InternationalRailroad,operatedby OmniTRAX, ended 2021 with an all-timehighof65,865loadedrailcars handled, a 22% increase from 2020. Campirano said 85% of the rail moves from Brownsville are south bound.Throughout2021,theport registered 438,000 truck movements representing an average of 1,200 truck movements per day.ThePortofBrownsvilleisthe granteeforForeignTradeZone No. 62, which has over 2,300 acres available for usage, consistently ranks inthe Top3FTZsforthevalueof exports out of 193 FTZs in the nation.customs brokers&freight forwarders For 2021, exported commodities www . jfmoran.com: 800.944.1041 passingthroughtheFTZwere valued at more than $5 billion, while imported commodities were valued at more than $4 billion.'